What are people's opinions about the Sydney Sea Cliffs? I've been to Diamond Bay (apparently one of the best) but found it considerably more chossy than I had suspected. Are the rest of the crags worth visiting? Sun, Surf and Sandstone have an 'x' mark next to every climb at some crags so I understand that the stuff can be a tad inconsistent, but what about Bow Wall, Bondi, The Gap and Clovelly.

Most of the climbs are on trad, so that must indicate a certain minimum quality of rock right?

it's complicated...
The rock is very strong, I can hand drill a carrot in the Blueys in 4 minutes, make that 25 on the seacliffs, BUT it is sandy.
Bondi is great
Bow wall is awesome (winter, westerly, low tide)
PM me for a tour

On 10/05/2012 SydneyBattler wrote:
but what about Bow Wall, Bondi,>The Gap and Clovelly.

Most of the sea cliff routes get minimal traffic - and the waves and wind deposit a thin layer of sand. To make almost any route a nice experience you need to rap them first with a plastic brush and dust off the sand. It only takes a few minutes and the enjoyment factor increases 10 fold.

>Most of the climbs are on trad, so that must indicate a certain minimum>quality of rock right?

Ok Cheers, the sand is a little off putting as to the quality of the rock, but its comforting to know that its still strong.

Is it advisable to take the log of death to get to Bow Wall? I don't have jumars so I'd prefer not to have to prussik out if the alternate route is safe enough; however, "death log" doesn't sound very promising.

Also, if anyone's been to diamond bay recently it'd be smart to get a knowledgeable set of eyes on the Honeycomb Arete (18). Its a good warm-up which I imagine a lot of people use but the last bolt and the anchors are on the worst rock I've ever climbed on. I was a little concerned about the safety of the bolts...

Sea Cliffs sandstone is way stronger than the Bluies. The difference is that the Sea Cliff sandstone is solid all the way through, whilst the Bluies is mostly a hard outer skin (sometimes only a few mm thick) and total unconsolidated sand/mud underneath it.

I've always looked longingly at the seacliffs, but have always been too scared to tackle them without a knowledgeable guide. Especially interested after hearing the rock is not the choss I'd been lead to believe.

I've found the dartboard technique to be too accurate. I prefer a simpler approach by adding stars to routes put up by my mates and dropping stars from routes put up by anybody who disses the guide on the internet.

On 10/05/2012 kieranl wrote:>On 10/05/2012 SydneyBattler wrote:>>Most of the climbs are on trad, so that must indicate a certain minimum quality of rock right?

>Someone tell him, please, before I die laughing.

Agreed! ... SB, trad implies a certain minimum quality of technique/style and there are many trad routes that climb utter choss, but can still be done in good style and are very rewarding/enjoyable for it.
There are also many other trad routes that are forgetable except for the undies soiling;-)
~> Honeycomb weathered sections and onion skin style scabby-defoliation on certain parts of Sydney seacliffs will be exciting for you!

On 11/05/2012 mikllaw wrote:>Ok, anyone up for a morning climb at Bow wall tomorrow, tides will be low>(high tide at 2pm). meet at 10am at the sea end of oceanview terrace vaulcuse?>Climb at Bow wall
very keen (just waiting on the relase forms from ballet drop-off and pick-ups), what sort of grades are available for those who dont quite er... crush?